July 2025 A Note from Marcy
The State and Country Fair Foods Issue

Dear Bakers and Friends,

Welcome to the July 2025 State Fair (or Province Fair) issue of Betterbaking.com!

Summertime and the living is easy but the temperature is sky-rocketing or at least it is in these parts. From what I watch and read, it’s pretty sticky everywhere except maybe Iceland and New Zealand – the former because it’s always pretty brisk and the latter because, well, it’s coming on Christmas in New Zealand. I’m sure I’ve mentioned this before but I am not a summer girl. I try and I try (I do love swimming) but I generally stay indoors until around 4 pm or scoot from car to indoors as fast as I can. I honestly feel it’s because having spent my days as a baker the hot weather outside actually feels like I am strolling through a pizza oven. I’m good in early morning and venture out in the evening but a sun worshipper, I am not. Plus I always feel sunny weather demands a sunny mood to go with it and action plans. Other weather (cooler or wetter or foggier) is all about baking, books, creating playlists, tango and yoga but summer has that ‘get outside and do something while it lasts feeling’. What I do manage is to find new summer cafes that are made for people watching, a book and my journal.

Summer does trigger my penchant for summer fairs and I am a big fan of TV shows that are about summer fair food. I grew up watching the 1962 movie State Fair and I am a still a fan. I would debate if I was more like Anne Margaret or Pamela Tiffin and deciding who I would pick as my beau: Pat Boone or Bobby Darren. I went with Pat only because Bobby Darren seemed (to my pre-adolescent eyes) like a man of fifty. I also was fascinated by the mince meat recipe entry for the state fair. I didn’t even know what mince-meat was in those days. The movie "State Fair" features mincemeat as a key element in the Frake family's competition entry. While the movie doesn't provide a specific recipe, traditional mincemeat typically includes a mix of dried fruits, spices, sugar, and sometimes meat (like beef or mutton), along with suet or butter and a distilled spirit like brandy or rum. I never understood how that was something that could be tasty, what you were supposed to use it for (especially in summer) and I worried about the storage of the raw meat and fruit mixture. Why not a classic like cherry pie?

Happy summer, stay safe, bake early;

Warm wishes from my Montreal kitchen to yours, wherever it may be,

Marcy Goldman
Master Baker, Author
www.Betterbaking.com
Est. 1997

(forgot! Check out my blue ribbon winning Caramel Corn https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/caramel-popcorn/

Recipes for July 2025

Free!! Fried Dough

https://betterbaking.com/free-recipe/
What is more Canadian or rural country fair than fried dough? Sugar and cinnamon are all you need but you can also go trendy and drizzle on pistachio cream.

Cheesecake on a Stick
https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/cheesecake-on-a-stick/
What’s more summery or decadent than this Dove-bar adjacent ice-cream treat! No special molds needed.

Garlic Slathered Stretch Bread|
https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/garlic-slathered-stretch-bread/
This is pretty state fair snacky: a simple white dough gets smeared with a garlicky past that bubbles up in the oven and then gets crisp and bakes up into a golden wonder. Leftovers can be sliced in sticks for dipping into marinara or used as a sandwich bread and pressed in a zesty Panini style snack.

State Fair Corn Dogs
https://betterbaking.com/recipe-items/state-fair-corn-dogs-or-pogos/

There’s something wonderfully nostalgic about corn dogs—those golden, crispy fairground favorites on a stick. But made at home, they transcend the midway. Homemade corn dogs are summery-easy and can be as gourmet as the pedigree, all-beef hot dogs you start with. Whether you're using artisanal franks or classic supermarket staples, the batter fries up into a tender, cornbready jacket with a delicate crunch. Great for casual entertaining, picnics, or just a joyful weekend lunch, these corn dogs are crowd-pleasers every time. If you want to turn these up a notch, check out some Korean hotdog flavors such as rolling these (after the batter part) in Captain Crunch, Cornflakes or crush corn chips!